Wheat-cleaning machine.



No. 67I,669. Patented Apr. 9, |90I.

S. D. HOOLE.

' WHEAT CLEANING MACHINE. 'Y

(Application led July 22, 1899.)

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No. -67|,669. Patented Apr; 9, |90I. S. D. HDOLE. WHEAT. cLEAmNs MAcHlNE.

(Application led July 22, 1899.) (No Modal.)

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fsf/@ rra /P/VE yaV NITED' STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL D. HOOLE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO SAMUEL D. I-IOOLE AND JOHN J. MILLER, OF SAME PLACE.

WH EAT-CLEANING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 671,669, dated April 9, 1901. Application iiled July 22, 1899. Serial No. 724,734. (No model.)

To LU whom 1125 may concern: wheat, and it is constructed to move the mass Be it .known that LSAMUEL D. HOOLE, a of wheat at such rate of speed as to receive citizen of the United States, residing in Ohiat one end and deliver' at the other and prefcago, in the county of Cook and State of Illierably about one bushel per minute, which, 55 5 nois, have invented a new and useful Imit will be seen, would leave the wheat in con' provement in Wheat-Cleaning Machines, of tact with the moisture and water about four which the following is a specification. minutes. G is t-he exit-spout from this stir- This invention relates to a machine for ring-chamber, and it leads to the brush dicleaning wheat-that is to say, for removing rectly.

1o the outer coverings of the berry from all parts The brush is shown at H. It consists of thereof down to the inner skin without injura tapering circular` body provided with the ing or penetrating said inner skin; and the bristles h, made of monkey-bast ber. This invention consists in the machine hereinafter monkey-bast is a woody ber which may more fully described and claimed. be obtained inthe market and is of such na- 65 15 In the accompanying drawings, which form ture that when it rubs against the wheat it a part of this specification, Figure l is a veris stiff enough to remove the outer coverings tical longitudinal section of the invention. of the berry and yet will not scratch the inner Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same, showing skin. It is. also elastic and of such nature one end of the machine; and Fig. 3 is an end that the bristles will penetrate the crease in 7o zo elevation showing the other end of the mathe berry, so that the outer coverings will b e chine. removed from the crease in the berry, as well Like letters of reference denote like parts as from the rest of the wheat. This taperin each of the ligures. ing circular brush, composed of the bristles In said drawings, A is a feed-spout for above stated, is mounted on and continually 75 25 feeding the wheat to the apparatus. This rotated by a shaft and is inclosed in a circuspout maylead directly from abin or granary lar tapering chamber J, the sides of which, where the dry wheat is kept or stored and is J', are formed of wire-netting, and the tip shown as being inclined at an angle to the ends of the brush come nearly to said netting. horizon. The bottom of this spout is prefer- The purpose of making the brush and its 8o 3o ably perforated or made with wire-netting, chamber of a tapering or conical forni is to as at B, and leading into the spout above the give opportunity for adjustment for wear as netting is a sprinkler-pipe C, from which the brush wears out. water sprinkles continually upon the wheat The shaft carrying the brush is shown as iiowing through the spout. A valve (not being mounted at one end in a fixed bearing, 85 3 5 shown) may regulate the amount of water dethrough which it may slide endwise, and at livered to the grain. The excess of water bethe .other end in a movable bearing, which yond what will cling to the grain iows down may be adjusted by a screw, there being coland out through the netting B. From the lars on the shaft at each side of this movable spout A the wheat, now with water clinging to bearing. By turning the screw the conical 9o 4o the outside of the berries, runs into the rebrush may be set in or out of its conical chamceiving hopper or funnel D, which in the exber as it wears. The moist wheat fed into ample machine illustrated is designed to hold this brush is carried around and around and about four bushels. delivered at the outer end entirely denuded, Below the hopper is a stirring-chamber, including the crease in the berry, of all its 95 45 consisting cfa cylindrical chamber E, pro outer covering and beard or fuzz down to the vided with a shaft F, havinga series of blades inner skin by the action of the elastic wood F', arranged to operate as a screw conveyerber or monkey-bast bristles. From the when the shaft revolves, as it does continubrush the clean wheat falls into the final ally while the machine is in operation. In spout K, whence, if it be in proper condition 10o 5o the example illustrated this cylindrical chamas to moisture, it may be conveyed directly ber is designed to hold about ive bushels of to the grinding-rolls or millstones. The fuzz or beard and the smaller fragments of shell cling to the wire-netting of the brush-chamber and pass through its interstices into the dust-spout L. The larger fragments and coats brush, but at a much slower speed, the relative speeds being Ain this instance as ifteen to two hundred. The purpose of giving a revolving motion to this chamber is to cause its various portions to come, one after another, underneath, so that the fine material caught lin the meshes of the netting may fall out.

The construction shown in the drawings, whereby this capacity of revolution is given .andthe motion imparted to said chamber,

consistsin a hollow bearing at each end of the said chamber, and this may be furnished with small friction-rollersj, upon which the weight of the conical chamber rests, and to the smaller end of the cone a rag Wheel or gear connected by a chain to the moving mechanism gives the revolving motion required.

The gearing of the machine shown in the drawings may be traced as follows: N is the drivingpulleymounted on the main or brush shaft and driving the brush. At the other end this shaft carries a pulley N', connected by a belt M2 to the shaft M3 of the frame. Also on this same main shaft is mounted the small rag-pinion M4, geared by a chain to the short counter-shaft M5, which carries at one end the rag-pinion M6, connected by chain M7 with the rag-wheel M8 on the shaft F of the stirring-chamber conveyer and carrying at` the other end the rag-pinion M10, connected by a chain M11 with rag-wheel M12 on the revolving brnsh-chamber.

I have discovered that in the cleaning of moistened wheat it is extremely important that the rubbing action for removing theouter coverings should be performed by a surface in the form of a brush composed of bristles of a woody fiber or material which shall be stift enough to rub 0E the said outer coverings, and yet which will not be so hard as to scratch or destroy the inner skin, and by eX- periment I have demonstrated that a brush composed of what is known as monkeybast, which is a Woody fiber coming to our market from tropical countries, as I am informed, exactly answers these requirements in every respect when used in a machine of the character above described.

I claiml. The wheat-cleaning apparatus consisting in the combination of the following instrumentalities: thev mechanism for moistening the wheat, which consists of a water-supply and a stirring device; second, the brushchamber for containing the revolving brush; third, the revolving brush, the bristles whereof are formed of elastic material' which is adapted to remove all the moistened outer covering and impurities from the berry, but not to penetrate the surface ofthe inner skin; fourth, means for conveying the grain from the moistening device to the brush, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The wheat-cleaning apparatus consistinginthe combination of the following instrumentalities: the mechanism for moistening the wheat, which consists of -a water-supply and a stirring device; second, the brush- .chamber for containing the revolving brush;

third, the revolving brush, the bristles whereof are composed of monkey bast; fourth, means for conveying the grain from the moistening device to the brush, all substantially as-and for the purpose set forth.

SAMUEL D. HOOLE. Witnesses:

H. M. MUNDAY, L. E. CURTIS. 

